The date and place of the group’s establishment is disputed between two member bodies, but the founding role of a dynamic preacher named Charles H. Mason is acknowledged by both. During the late 19th century Mason led Holiness churches in Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. When news of the outpouring of Pentecostal blessing at the Apostolic Faith Gospel Mission in Los Angeles reached him, he traveled there himself and received baptism in the Holy Spirit. He returned to his congregation and began to preach the need for a charismaticreligious experience. Tensions developed, and a non-Pentecostal faction withdrew. Mason proceeded to convene a General Assembly and to declare that the Church of God in Christ was henceforth Pentecostal. At that first General Assembly, which met in Memphis about 1907, Mason was elected general overseer of about 12 churches located principally in Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Oklahoma.

For decades, Mason almost single-handedly supervised the activities of the denomination. In 1933, however, he relinquished some authority to four assistant bishops and later to state overseers. This form of church government, with its adherence to episcopal authority, is not characteristic of most contemporary Pentecostal groups, which combine elements of congregational and presbyterian polity. In doctrinal matters, however, there is little difference between the Church of God in Christ and other charismatic groups, especially the Churches of God and the Pentecostal Holiness Church, which stress perfectionism.

In the early 21st century the group reported more than six million members in more than 60 countries. Headquarters are in Memphis.

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